


The Third Kind

by tablelamp



Category: Sarah Jane Adventures
Genre: Alien Technology, Aliens, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-17
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-08-25 00:15:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16650625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tablelamp/pseuds/tablelamp





	The Third Kind

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dbskyler](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dbskyler/gifts).



Sarah Jane was writing a brief article about the coming weekend's Bannerman Road Funfair, computer on her lap, feet up. It wasn't her favourite sort of article to write; she much preferred investigative journalism, but her adventures involving aliens tended to put her in a bit of a tight spot. She couldn't write openly about alien investigations, and if she was spending much of her time and energy investigating alien activity, she couldn't always work on other types of investigations simultaneously. Sometimes she still did, though she knew it made her life complicated. She'd been looking closely into all sorts of events all her life, and wasn't about to stop now.

The living room lights flickered, and Sarah Jane looked up, frowning slightly. The lights flickered again, growing more bright than they ordinarily were before dimming again. She set aside her computer, getting to her feet.

"Hello?" she called. "Is someone there?" It wasn't usual for aliens to find their way into her house without asking first, but it wasn't entirely unusual either.

"Please help us," whispered voices from the kitchen.

"I'll be right there." Sarah Jane patted her pockets to make sure she had her sonic lippy and hurried into the kitchen.

A glowing green mist bobbed up and down in front of the sink. Small, sparkling bits of green energy appeared to be dripping from the mist and onto the floor.

"How can I help?" Sarah Jane asked.

"We were traveling through your galaxy," the mist whispered, "but we miscalculated the gravitational pull of your world. We are injured and separated from our friends."

"How awful," Sarah Jane said, looking again at the small, faint puddle of green energy the mist had left on the floor. "What do you need to be able to heal?"

"That is simple," the mist whispered. "We require cool and a charged field."

"Charged--you mean electricity?"

"We believe that is what you call it," the mist confirmed.

Sarah Jane thought fast. "If it's cool you need, you're welcome to spend some time in the fridge. Or the freezer, depending on what temperature works best for you. Here." She opened the doors to both.

The mist entered first the fridge compartment, then the freezer compartment. "The freezer is very pleasing to us."

"As for electricity, I reckon you can pull some of that through the freezer to yourself," Sarah Jane said. "Not too much, though, or you'll take power from the entire street."

"We will be careful," the green mist whispered. "What are you called?"

"My name is Sarah Jane Smith," Sarah Jane said.

"Sarah Jane Smith. We have heard of you. You protect this planet and help lost travellers. We are Erel."

Sarah Jane smiled. As she frequently confronted hostile aliens, that wasn't how she was used to hearing her role described. "Nice to meet you, Erel. And thank you." She paused. "If I close the door, will you be able to get out?"

"We are not confined by the bounds of matter like your species. We will be fine," Erel said.

"All right," Sarah Jane said, closing the door of the freezer. "Goodnight."

"Rest and healing to you," Erel answered.

***

The next morning, Sarah Jane went into the kitchen earlier than usual. "Erel? How are you feeling?"

Erel seeped through the freezer door. "We are greatly recovered. Thank you, Sarah Jane Smith. We will contact our friends and plan a reunion."

"Is there anything I can do?" Sarah Jane asked.

"We can communicate through great distances, but there is the matter of our location," Erel said. "We must somehow tell our friends how to locate us, but as we are unfamiliar with your planet, we do not know what direction to give."

That was a bit of a problem. There weren't any geographical features that would be very recognizable from space, although if Erel's species wasn't bounded by matter, perhaps geography wasn't the best way to give directions. Then Sarah Jane had it. "The funfair!"

"What is this?" Erel asked.

"It's a...a gathering of people that will be happening on this road. There will be all sorts of things going on, but what that means for you is quite a lot of increased electrical activity. And at night, there will be fireworks nearby, which your friends should be able to see from a distance. The fireworks should be enough to direct them until they get close enough to see this road."

"I will tell them," Erel said. "Thank you, Sarah Jane Smith."

***

Erel and Sarah Jane slipped outside to watch the funfair on Saturday night, as the sun began setting.

"Your funfair is very beautiful," Erel observed.

"Is it?" Sarah Jane usually thought of funfairs in terms of the sounds--noise, bustle, people laughing, children shouting--but as she looked at the street, crowded with excited people, the trees strung with fairy lights, she could see what Erel meant. "Yes, I can see that."

Erel became somewhat agitated as the fireworks began, moving back and forth. "They should see this. They should be here."

"I'm sure they will be," Sarah Jane said, hoping she was right.

The last bout of fireworks was always the most impressive, and tonight it was doubly so. After a loud, bright volley of sizzles and booms, the last firework burst brightly across the sky...and a luminous green mist seemed to emanate from it. Everyone watching oohed and aahed.

"Before we return to our friends," Erel said, "may we give you a gift?"

"That's very kind of you, but there's really no need," Sarah Jane said.

"We would like to," Erel said.

"All right," Sarah Jane said, wondering what sort of gift Erel meant.

Erel moved close to Sarah Jane, engulfing her until she was surrounded by Erel's green energy. It felt like being surrounded by a very gentle force field, or having scuffed your shoes on a rug over and over until your hair nearly stood away from your head.

After a moment, Erel pulled back. "We have given you language."

"Language?"

"Our kind knows and speaks a great many languages from throughout the universe. We have shared with you that knowledge, so you can speak with and understand any beings you meet, even if they do not speak your language."

Sarah Jane's mouth opened in surprise. "That is a beautiful gift, Erel. Thank you."

Erel bobbed up and down slightly. "You are welcome. We will rejoin our friends now. Goodnight, Sarah Jane Smith."

Sarah Jane smiled. "Rest and healing to you, Erel. And safe travels."

Almost no one noticed the small portion of green mist that joined the large, twinkling network of mist hovering over Bannerman Road, or that after the small portion joined the larger, the mist rose up and up into the air until it finally disappeared from view. But Sarah Jane saw, and was glad to know that Erel would be once more safe with friends.


End file.
